P2D- Mrs DeBonrostro

P2D Reflective Friday 14.10.22

Staff..114

Another very busy week.  We are feeling ready for our week’s holiday!

Literacy

This week we learned the digraph sounds oi (boil, foil, coin) and oy (boy, toy, enjoy).  We used the following image to help us to remember the sound. 

We have had a focus on what makes a sentence and have done some work on identifying sentences, ensuring that they each make sense on their own. 

In writing, we finished our unit on instruction writing with a piece focussing on our morning routine at school.  We are now confidently using bossy verbs, using words of order and sequencing instructions correctly.  We have been developing our skills in self assessing our work against these success criteria. 

We have been continuing to work on developing our spelling of tricky words and recognition of key words from our reading books. 

Things to try at home:

  • Practise reading your new reading book with the illustrations covered up
  • Continue to practise word wall words – we should know these by sight
  • With an adult practise finding words in your reading books in isolation e.g. ‘find the word pulled’, ‘find the word stream’.
  • Following on from parents evening your child will now have a copy of tricky words to practise – use post-its or small pieces of paper and make a pairs game to play – making the cards will further cement the spelling of these words.

Numeracy

This week in numeracy we have continued to practise our numerical skills by:

  • Counting forwards and backwards starting and stopping at different points
  • Recognising numerals
  • Handwriting numbers correctly
  • Using a counting on strategy for addition

Our main focus has been revisiting doubles facts using fingers unseen (1+1, 2+2, 3+3, 4+4, 5+5) and extending this to (6+6, 7+7, 8+8, 9+9, 10+10). 

We also introduced the concept of near doubles (doubles plus 1.)

Things to try at home:

DOUBLES! DOUBLES! (*new* 1-10 version) – YouTube

Addition: Doubles + 1 / Growing Brain – YouTube

Loop cards (dominos) games – select ‘doubles to 15’ or ‘doubles to 20’ Loop Cards – 5-11 year olds – Topmarks

Hit the button game – select doubles to 10 – Hit the Button – Quick fire maths practise for 6-11 year olds (topmarks.co.uk)

Other Areas of the Curriculum

As part of our Polly Jean Pyjama Queen topic we have been learning about adaptions animals have developed to live in their habitats.  The two animals we learned about were: camels and how they have adapted to life in the desert and polar bears and how they have adapted to life in the Arctic. 

We enjoyed taking part in experiments to find out how polar bears have adapted to cold climates. 

We used lard to create a polar bear glove and tested this in ice with one hand gloved and one hand bare.  We found that the hand with the polar bear glove could not feel the cold ice at all!  The lard provided a thick layer of fat similar to that of the polar bear. 

We also used cotton wool to insulate our hand against ice, just like a polar bear’s thick fur.  It helped to keep our hands warm!

In PE we have continued to develop our coordination and jumping skills using a range of activities.

We enjoyed working with the other P2 class to find and unscramble tricky words in the playground.

Independent Learning

(Photos taken by the children, their proud moments! )


Other information  

  • Please ensure your child brings a jacket every day to school.  
  • Thank you for your support in emptying the purple folders each day.   
  • A reminder to name all items of clothing and shoes, and to check names on items brought home in case your child accidentally acquires a jumper belonging to someone else.  
  • We would appreciate donations of any unwanted empty or partially used notebooks or diaries (used pages can be removed). Also, any enticing writing implements (i.e., glittery pencils/gel pens/ pencils with feathers etc – anything other than standard school issue type pencils/pens). The children enjoy choosing resources from the table to use in their independent learning.  
  • We are looking for small pieces of ‘junk’ for modelling e.g., toothpaste boxes, tea bag boxes, snack bar boxes. The more interesting shapes the better!
  • Remember we will back on Wednesday 26th October.

Have a wonderful break!

Mrs de Bonrostro

P2MD Mrs McFarlane and Miss Davidson

P2NM Blog 10.10.22

s9060915

Another very busy week.  We are feeling ready for our week’s holiday!

Literacy

This week we learned the digraph sounds oi (boil, foil, coin) and oy (boy, toy, enjoy).  We used the following image to help us to remember the sound. 

We have focussed on what makes a sentence and have done some work on identifying sentences, ensuring that they each make sense on their own. 

In writing, we finished our unit on instruction writing with a piece focussing on our morning routine at school.  We are now confidently using bossy verbs, using words of order and sequencing instructions correctly.  We have been developing our skills in self assessing our work against these success criteria. 

We have been continuing to work on developing our spelling of tricky words and recognition of key words from our reading books. 

Things to try at home:

  • Practise reading your new reading book with the illustrations covered up
  • Continue to practise word wall words – we should know these by sight
  • With an adult practise finding words in your reading books in isolation e.g. ‘find the word pulled’, ‘find the word stream’.
  • Following on from parents evening your child will now have a copy of tricky words to practise – use post-its or small pieces of paper and make a pairs game to play – making the cards will further cement the spelling of these words.

Numeracy

This week in numeracy we have continued to practise our numerical skills by:

  • Counting forwards and backwards starting and stopping at different points
  • Recognising numerals
  • Handwriting numbers correctly
  • Using a counting on strategy for addition

Our main focus has been revisiting doubles facts using fingers unseen (1+1, 2+2, 3+3, 4+4, 5+5) and extending this to (6+6, 7+7, 8+8, 9+9, 10+10). 

We also introduced the concept of near doubles (doubles plus 1.)

Things to try at home:

DOUBLES! DOUBLES! (*new* 1-10 version) – YouTube

Addition: Doubles + 1 / Growing Brain – YouTube

Loop cards (dominos) games – select ‘doubles to 15’ or ‘doubles to 20’ Loop Cards – 5-11 year olds – Topmarks

Hit the button game – select doubles to 10 – Hit the Button – Quick fire maths practise for 6-11 year olds (topmarks.co.uk)

Other Areas of the Curriculum

As part of our Polly Jean Pyjama Queen topic we have been learning about adaptions animals have developed to live in their habitats.  The two animals we learned about were: camels and how they have adapted to life in the desert and polar bears and how they have adapted to life in the Arctic. 

We enjoyed taking part in experiments to find out how polar bears have adapted to cold climates. 

We used lard to create a polar bear glove and tested this in ice with one hand gloved and one hand bare.  We found that the hand with the polar bear glove could not feel the cold ice at all!  The lard provided a thick layer of fat similar to that of the polar bear. 

We also used cotton wool to insulate our hand against ice, just like a polar bear’s thick fur.  It helped to keep our hands warm!

In PE, we have continued to develop our balance and coordination using a range of resources and activities.

We enjoyed working with the other P2 class to find and unscramble tricky words in the playground.

We learned about Black history month and some important black historical figures.


Other information  

  • Please ensure your child brings a jacket every day to school.  
  • Thank you for your support in emptying the purple folders each day.   
  • A reminder to name all items of clothing and shoes, and to check names on items brought home in case your child accidentally acquires a jumper belonging to someone else.  
  • We would appreciate donations of any unwanted empty or partially used notebooks or diaries (used pages can be removed). Also, any enticing writing implements (i.e., glittery pencils/gel pens/ pencils with feathers etc – anything other than standard school issue type pencils/pens). The children enjoy choosing resources from the table to use in their independent learning.  
  • We are looking for small pieces of ‘junk’ for modelling e.g., toothpaste boxes, tea bag boxes, snack bar boxes. The more interesting shapes the better!
img-2559Download
img-2550Download
P1 Pandas

P1W reflective Friday 14.10.22

Staff...685

Thank you for all your support this term. I can’t believe that we have reached the holidays already. This class are superstars and it has been my privilege to get to know them over the last few weeks. I hope you all have a great holiday week whatever you are doing and I look forward to seeing the children again on the 26th.

Independent learning

The children have been developing a wide range of skills through independent learning opportunities in class. Here is a selection of photographs of what they have been doing.

This week we have introduced the letter sounds e and h as well as the ‘tricky’ words I and the. Tricky words are words which we cannot sound out phonetically so we need to learn them by heart. We would like the children to learn to write these words from memory as well as being able to recognise and read them by sight. We have already started using the word I in our writing .

Our writing/storytelling prompt this week was all about our hair

Numeracy and Maths

This week we have explored our knowledge of 2D shape and 3D objects. We have used the following vocabulary in our discussions –

square, circle, rectangle, triangle, hexagon, pentagon, octagon, cube, cuboid, sphere, cylinder, cone, pyramid, triangular prism, faces, edges, sides, vertices.
Please help to reinforce this learning at home by discussing the properties of shapes and 3d objects you see around you.

Our Core numeracy skills this week were

  • counting backwards from 10 (or 20 for some pupils).
  • naming the next number in an isolated short backwards number sequence. ie. I say, 10, 9, 8 (they say 7)
  • establishing a collection (give me 9 counters/raisins/etc)
  • counting a collecting with accurate 1-1 correspondence
  • recognising numerals
  • sequencing a short selection of numerals ( e.g. 5,6,7,8)
  • making instant finger patterns (show me 6 fingers without counting them)
  • recognising dice patterns and clapping the amount of dots on the dice

Our challenge numeracy skills were.

  • adding two collections with the second one screened ( e.g. here are 8 counters, there are 5 more hiding under this pot, how many altogether?)
  • sequencing numerals within the range 0-30
  • naming the number after a given number ( 0-30)
  • counting backwards from 30, starting and stopping at different points
  • investigating which equal groups can be made from a given number ( e.g. can I make 2 equal groups/3 equal groups/4 equal groups/5 equal groups from 12 counters? What about if I have 16 counters, or 18 etc)

Looking ahead to next week.

Holiday week – have a lovely time!

Other areas of the curriculum

  • We enjoyed finding out facts about elephants and hedgehogs. Our vocabulary included, nocturnal, hibernation, endangered.
  • We followed instructions to help us draw an elephant.
  • In music we sang songs and played games designed to develop skills of keeping a steady beat. We also explored using our voices in different ways.
  • Miss Croal played her harp for us. It is a small harp, called a clarsach.
  • The NHS team came to give us our flu spray.
  • In Outdoor and Indoor PE we have been focusing on jumping, landing safely with both feet together and jumping over I am learning how to move my body well, exploring how to manage and control it and finding out how to use and share space (HWB 0-21a)

This week’s homework and other information

  • Enjoy the holiday – see you on the 26th.

t-l-9026-letter-formation-tracing-alphabet-strips-_ver_2Download

A reminder to please name all items of clothing and shoes, and to check names on items brought home in case your child accidentally acquires a jumper belonging to someone else.

Buckstone Primary School, P1 Koalas

Primary One Masterminds- Reflective Friday 14.10.22

Staff..469

Hello everyone, this is what we have been learning this week:

MATHS

This week we have been learning to recognise and describe 2D shapes and 3D objects. We built shapes using lolly sticks and made pictures using different shapes. We looked for 3D objects in the classroom and talked about cube, cylinder, sphere, cuboid, and  pyramid. We investigated whether these 3D objects could stack or roll.

Here is a sample of our learning:

LITERACY

This week we introduced the sounds e and h. We thought of words beginning with those sounds and learned songs and actions to help us remember them. In small groups we used magnetic letters to try to blend sounds together to read and build words.

We introduced two tricky words – I and the. These are words that cannot be sounded out.

FOUNDATIONS OF WRITING

We discussed when we need to change our shoes and the different reasons for this.

We drew pictures of us changing our shoes and shared our stories in our group.

We practised diagonal lines in handwriting.

THINGS TO DO AT HOME

Please use the blue letter cards you have collected so far to practise blending and building words. Practise writing the tricky words from memory and read them using a ‘look and say’ approach.

Some examples of our learning:

PE

In our outdoor PE time, we were developing our jumping skills. We played a jogging, walking,  skipping game to warm up and went to the correct shape drawn on the ground when the whistle blew. We practised running at different speeds, jumping high, jumping two feet to two feet, one foot to two feet and one foot to one foot. In the hall we worked in a group to make different shapes with our bodies and raced against each other in team games.

OUTDOOR LEARNING

We went for a walk in the wooded part of our playground and looked at how the leaves had changed since September.

We made pictures using natural materials.

LEARNING ABOUT OUR SCHOOL

We had a walk around our school to find out where the classes from P4 to P7 are. We saw the library and the office.

BLACK HISTORY MONTH

We listened to the story of Rosa Parks and discussed her bravery and the work she did to ensure all people were treated fairly.

We hope everyone has a lovely October break.

Buckstone Primary School

P1B Reflective Friday 7.10.22

fionacroal

Good afternoon, P1B! It was lovely to see you for the Parent Consultations this week. We are still missing a few Learning Story folders – please return them on Monday.

Literacy

This week, we introduced the m and r sounds.  We made monkey puppets and masks, then we took our learning outside where we heard the story of the monster who just wanted kindness! We used natural materials to make clay monsters. We have been cutting, colouring and using watercolour paint to make rabbits, rockets and rainbows. At the teaching table, we have been practising our blending and building with the letter boards. For blending, try saying all the sounds in the word in one breath! This can help them to flow together more. There are videos below for practising letter formation. For writing this week, our prompt was “I was shocked when…”. I’m sure you will have seen in your child’s writing jotter how imaginative their responses were!

blending and building with our letter boards
I was shocked when…
cutting skills

Numeracy

We continued with our work on SEAL Chapter 5 this week, focussing on skills such as showing 1-5 on fingers without looking, counting a collection of counters forwards and backwards and we have introduced numeral tracks. Knowing “what comes after 12?” and “what comes before 13?” is still tricky, so any repetition of this at home would be great.

Health and Wellbeing

We all did a fantastic job at PE this week. We introduced passing a baton during our relay races and everyone did really well at controlling their pace on the way back for a smooth transition. 

On Thursday with Mrs Conlin, we continued with Looking on the Bright Side and thought about what we are grateful for. The Bright Sparks had some lovely answers: mummy, daddy, my brother, my sister, cousins, Octonauts, food, bed, my family, my dog, rainbows, toys, cats, love and friends.

We had a movement break dance party after our wet break today!

https://videopress.com/v/K8aUFpj7?resizeToParent=true&cover=true&preloadContent=metadata&useAverageColor=true
https://videopress.com/v/zuYur6mm?resizeToParent=true&cover=true&preloadContent=metadata&useAverageColor=true

Other Areas

Lots of impressive STEM work with the big bricks this week!, amongst other activities.

looking back on some of our learning so far!
A musical instrument that was made in the area!
building a fire house – we left a gap so that the fire engines could get in and out

General information:

We will have Outdoor Loose Parts (messy play) on Friday – a lovely way to finish off the half-term! Please make sure your child has appropriate clothing for this.

We will have our PE days next week as normal (Monday and Thursday).

I am looking for some additional furniture and items for our classroom. If anybody has any small tables (IKEA LACK size), small chairs or rugs that are unwanted we would really appreciate any donations! 

Have a great weekend,

Miss Croal

P2MD Mrs McFarlane and Miss Davidson

P2MN Blog 07.10.22

Staff..226

Dear Parents/ Carers,  

This week in P2 we have been learning: 

Literacy  

In literacy we have learned two new vowel diagraphs oa (as in goat, moat, boat) and ow (as in blow, snow and row). They both make the same sound.  We talked about the fact that oa is usually found in the middle of words and ow at the end.

In writing we have continued to learn how to write instructions.  

In handwriting we have been working on how to form the letter s in cursive script. 

At home 

  • Yesterday your child took home her/his reading book. We have been reading the book at school during the week therefore your child should be able to read the book without support (they might need support with some words). This is a showcase of their learning at school. 
  • Your child should also have a word wall related to the stage they are reading. They should become confident in reading these words. 
  • Handwriting, children could continue to practise writing their first and surname in cursive script. 
  • Continue to practise reading and spelling the tricky words. 
  • Here is a fun game to practise at home. Select ow and oa to reinforce this week’s phonics focus. 

    Forest Phonics – mobile friendly (ictgames.com) 

     
    Maths  

    In Maths we have continued our unit of work on information handling. We have learned to make simple bar graphs. 

    We have continued to work on our numeracy skills through our SEAL programme.

    The main focus has been on number structures (using a ten frame) and learning about all of the different ways that the same number can be represented.  

    At home 

    This is a fun game to reinforce the work we have done on information handling. 

    Fishing Pictograph Game | 2nd Grade Math Games | Toy Theate

    We have used this game to explore ten frames. 

    https://www.nctm.org/Classroom-Resources/Illuminations/Interactives/Ten-Frame/ 

    Here is an interesting link which demonstrates how the numbers 9 and 10 can be represented. 

    Representing 9 and 10 – Maths – Learning with BBC Bitesize – BBC Bitesize 

    You could extend this at home by exploring different numbers and how they can be represented.  

    Other areas  

    In PE we have worked on working as a team (outdoors) and ball skills (indoors): hand and feet skills.  

    IDL We have continued to work on our topic Polly Jean Pyjama Queen and our focus has been learning about habitats.  


    Other information  
  • Please ensure your child brings a jacket every day to school.  
  • Thank you for your support in emptying the purple folders each day.   
  • A reminder to name all items of clothing and shoes, and to check names on items brought home in case your child accidentally acquires a jumper belonging to someone else.  
  • We would appreciate donations of any unwanted empty or partially used notebooks or diaries (used pages can be removed). Also, any enticing writing implements (i.e., glittery pencils/gel pens/ pencils with feathers etc – anything other than standard school issue type pencils/pens). The children enjoy choosing resources from the table to use in their independent learning.  
  • We are looking for small pieces of ‘junk’ for modelling e.g., toothpaste boxes, tea bag boxes, snack bar boxes. The more interesting shapes the better!  

     

    Have a wonderful weekend!  
P2D- Mrs DeBonrostro

P2D Reflective Friday 7.10.22

Staff..114

Dear Parents/ Carers,   

 It was lovely to meet you all this week.

This week in P2 we have been learning:  

  

Literacy   

  

In literacy we have learned two new vowel diagraphs oa (as in goat, moat, boat) and ow (as in blow, snow and row). They both make the same sound.  We talked about the fact that oa is usually found in the middle of words and ow at the end. 

  

In writing we have continued to learn how to write instructions.   This time we have written instructions about how to cross the road.

  

In handwriting we have been working on how to form the letter s in cursive script.  

  

At home  

  • Yesterday your child took home her/his reading book. We have been reading the book at school during the week therefore your child should be able to read the book without support (they might need support with some words). This is a showcase of their learning at school.  
  • Your child should also have a word wall related to the stage they are reading. They should become confident in reading these words.  
  • Handwriting, children could continue to practise writing their first and surname in cursive script.  
  • Continue to practise reading and spelling the tricky words.  
  • Here is a fun game to practise at home. Select ow and oa to reinforce this week’s phonics focus.  
     
    Forest Phonics – mobile friendly (ictgames.com)  
     
       

Maths   
In Maths we have continued our unit of work on information handling. We have learned to make simple bar graphs.  
We have continued to work on our numeracy skills through our SEAL programme.   
The main focus has been on number structures (using a ten frame) and learning about all of the different ways that the same number can be represented.   


 
 At home  
 
 This is a fun game to reinforce the work we have done on information handling.  
 
  
 
Fishing Pictograph Game | 2nd Grade Math Games | Toy Theater  
 
  
 
We have used this game to explore ten frames.  
 
  
 
https://www.nctm.org/Classroom-Resources/Illuminations/Interactives/Ten-Frame/  
 
  
 
Here is an interesting link which demonstrates how the numbers 9 and 10 can be represented.  
 
  
 
Representing 9 and 10 – Maths – Learning with BBC Bitesize – BBC Bitesize  
 
  
 
You could extend this at home by exploring different numbers and how they can be represented.   
 
  
 
Other areas   
 
  
 
In PE we have worked on working as a team (outdoors) and ball skills (indoors): hand and feet skills.   
 
IDL We have continued to work on our topic Polly Jean Pyjama Queen and our focus has been learning about habitats.   

Independent Learning


 
  

Other information   
 
  

  • Please ensure your child brings a jacket every day to school.   
  • Thank you for your support in emptying the purple folders each day.    
  • A reminder to name all items of clothing and shoes, and to check names on items brought home in case your child accidentally acquires a jumper belonging to someone else.   
  • We would appreciate donations of any unwanted empty or partially used notebooks or diaries (used pages can be removed). Also, any enticing writing implements (i.e., glittery pencils/gel pens/ pencils with feathers etc – anything other than standard school issue type pencils/pens). The children enjoy choosing resources from the table to use in their independent learning.   
  • We are looking for small pieces of ‘junk’ for modelling e.g., toothpaste boxes, tea bag boxes, snack bar boxes. The more interesting shapes the better!   
     
      
     
    Have a wonderful weekend!   

Mrs de Bonrostro

P1 Pandas

P1W reflective Friday 7.10.22

Staff...685

Independent learning

The children have been developing a wide range of skills through independent learning opportunities in class. Here is a selection of photographs of what they have been doing.

M is for mint. It was tasty.

Literacy

This week we have introduced the letter sounds m and r.

Our handwriting focus was diagonal lines.

r is for rainbow

Our writing/storytelling prompt this week was ‘I was changing my shoes…’

I was changing my shoes to play football.
I was changing my shoes because I had to go to ballet.
I was changing my shoes to get ready to go outside.
I am in the cloakroom changing my shoes because I am going outside.

Numeracy

This week we have continued our numeracy fluency work with our Stages of Early Arithmetical Learning ( SEAL) inputs, reinforcing the following strategies and concepts –

Our Core numeracy skills this week were

  • counting backwards from 10 (or 20 for some pupils).
  • naming the next number in an isolated short backwards number sequence. ie. I say, 10, 9, 8 (they say 7)
  • establishing a collection (give me 9 counters/raisins/etc)
  • counting a collecting with accurate 1-1 correspondence
  • recognising numerals
  • sequencing a short selection of numerals ( e.g. 5,6,7,8)
  • making instant finger patterns (show me 6 fingers without counting them)
  • recognising dice patterns and clapping the amount of dots on the dice

Our challenge numeracy skills were.

  • adding two collections with the second one screened ( e.g. here are 8 counters, there are 5 more hiding under this pot, how many altogether?)
  • sequencing numerals within the range 0-30
  • naming the number after a given number ( 0-30)
  • counting backwards from 30, starting and stopping at different points
  • investigating which equal groups can be made from a given number ( e.g. can I make 2 equal groups/3 equal groups/4 equal groups/5 equal groups from 12 counters? What about if I have 16 counters, or 18 etc)

Looking ahead to next week.

Loose parts play on Friday morning after break

Other areas of the curriculum

  • In health and Wellbeing, our whole school topic is ‘Look on the Bright Side’. We drew pictures of things we are grateful for.
  • We continued to explore gender bias (in child friendly language) discussing which jobs and activities are for males/females. Happily, the children are steadfast in their understanding that anyone can do anything they choose to do.
  • In music we sang songs and played games designed to develop skills of keeping a steady beat. We also explored using our voices in different ways.
  • In Outdoor and Indoor PE we have been focusing on jumping, landing safely with both feet together. I am learning how to move my body well, exploring how to manage and control it and finding out how to use and share space (HWB 0-21a)

This week’s homework and other information

  • Practise forming the letters m and r
  • Talk together about things to be grateful for
  • Count backwards from 10 (or 20 or 30)
  • Use all the blue letter cards to blend and build words ( see homework sheet in purple folder)
  • Encourage your child to write their name using correct letter formation. You may wish to refer to the sheet given home at parent’s night for letter formation routes.

Can you help?

We have been given a new doll for our role play corner – but it is very cold!! If anyone has any leftover double knitting wool which we could use to make some clothes for it that would be much appreciated. (It would be even more amazing if anyone has the time and skill to make us some clothes to fit a 16″ baby doll)

t-l-9026-letter-formation-tracing-alphabet-strips-_ver_2Download

A reminder to please name all items of clothing and shoes, and to check names on items brought home in case your child accidentally acquires a jumper belonging to someone else.